Lebanon must free a journalist detained without charge

New York, September 14, 2012--Authorities must immediately
release journalist Rami Aysha who has been detained without charge and abused since
being seized more than two weeks ago while investigating alleged arms smuggling
in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Committee to Protect Journalists said
today.

"We are very disturbed by the mistreatment and continued
detention of Rami Aysha and call for his immediate release," said CPJ Executive
Director Joel Simon. "Journalists in Lebanon must be able to work freely during
this critical time in the country's history."

Aysha, a Lebanese-Palestinian freelancer who has worked as a
journalist and translator for several international outlets in Lebanon
including Time Magazine, was captured by Hezbollah forces on August 30,
according to a letter CPJ received from journalists for Time, Spiegel Online, Global Post,
and other Beirut-based journalists who are concerned about his
detention.

Aysha was arrested along with an army lieutenant identified
as Wissam Abd al-Khalik and a third person identified as the officer's cousin,
according to a report
by Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV. The report acknowledged that Aysha was a journalist
investigating a potential story.

The journalist and the two men were in a car on an airport
road near the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, when Hezbollah
agents forced them at gunpoint into another car, the Beirut journalists said in
their letter, citing information from Aysha's lawyer. The three were taken to a
Hezbollah office and held there for several hours during which they were severely
beaten, the letter said.

Aysha sustained two black eyes from the beating, and
Hezbollah agents smashed the video camera he had with him, although he had not
filmed anything, Aysha told his lawyer, according to the letter. Aysha was then
transferred to a military police station in Beirut, where he was beaten by
military police, the letter said. His case was heard before a military judge
who refused to release him on bail, although no formal charges have been
brought.

On September 12, Aysha was moved to Quba Prison in the
northern city of Tripoli, far from his wife and daughter, according to the letter
from the Beirut journalists. The journalist was put in a cell with 70 to 90
other inmates, his brother, Ramzi, told CPJ. The brother said the Aysha family was
notified that they could visit him only three times a week, for just a few
minutes at a time. Ramzi Aysha said that when he visited his brother in prison,
he was allowed to see him for only two minutes. The journalist expressed great concern
about his well-being, the brother said.

The journalist has frequently covered arms smuggling from
Lebanon to neighboring Syria, which might be a reason for his detention, Ramzi Aysha
said. The journalist has told authorities he was simply working on a story and was
being unjustly detained, according to his brother. The letter from the
Beirut-based journalists also said Aysha had often worked on arms smuggling
stories; the letter said he often pursued such stories on his own initiative.

Aysha has worked for several international news outlets
since 2007. Since the Syrian uprising began in 2011, he has covered the
conflict and the emergence of the rebel Free Syrian Army, the letter said.

On Thursday, a military judge said the journalist could not
be released until the investigation was completed, according to his brother. Aysha's court date has not been set
yet and under Lebanese law, he could remain in detention for up to six months
without charge, Ramzi Aysha said.

Lebanon has increasingly been affected by the unrest in
neighboring Syria, CPJ research shows. In April, CPJ documented the
killing of a Lebanese cameraman while filming near the Syrian border.